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Urgent, or Not so

Wow, I’ve made it as far as U in the blogging from A to Z challenge. Well done me, for a first month of retirement adventure. Urgent. I’m working on letting fewer and fewer things hit the category of urgent, or its horrible relative, emergent. I’ve never enjoyed feeling rushed, and after more than half […]

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Trust

What to trust? Always a question. As time goes on, I’m learning more and more to listen to myself and trust my own internal knowing. This morning, I looked at the weather app on my phone and found this: What to do with this? In this case, an obvious and easy solution-I looked out the […]

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Old observances

This is a big weekend for spring holiday observances. The big 3 monotheistic religions have something going on, in order of chronological appearance: Passover, Easter and Ramadan. I grew up nominally Christian, following that calendar of celebrations. However, it was more about being helpful and of service to those in needs as opposed to following […]

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Winding Down

I’ve been working for a long time. Sometime in the early 1960’s I started having chores around the house, and to collect my miniscule allowance, those chores had to be completed. Then other jobs appeared that could be done for pay. As the oldest child of 4, I started babysitting young. My parents got both […]

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Up Close

I Don’t sit so close to Whatever you’re hoping to see heard by many friends II. I don’t want glasses What’s wrong with that tree? funny spots Leaves? hmm, new to me. III. Myopic not me Farsighted, eagle eyed Not after fifty. IV. a pair in each room still not there when I want them […]

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Getting Set

I. Oilcloth for picnics linen and lace for parties everyday and fancy II. red checkered cloths stained with life, gravy and wine many tales told here III. fine embroidery illuminates a cloth years in the making. A series of haiku/senryu written for today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt of Tablecloth

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Its been a Month

Since everything changed here in my part of Boulder County. Ignited somehow (the cause is still under investigation)and propelled by 100 mph winds, the Marshall Fire roared to life. This morning, I started writing and then the Sunday paper arrived, with many stories of the fire, evacuation, heroic acts to save neighbors, friends, animals, homes. […]

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Where There’s Smoke. . .

There’s fire. And indeed there was. December 30, 2021, 1 pm. I’m driving home after taking a walk at Barr Lake State Park, a favorite place of mine, about 10 miles east of where I live. Heading west into the predicted strong winds, I smell smoke. A few miles east of home the smoke is […]

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RE

A series of senryu written for the Blogging A to Z challenge. Today’s letter is R I. Re: reference referring to whatever is on someones mind II. reruns or retakes the hope of doing over that which we regret III. the verdict is in remanded to custody the losses remain IV. Reset all the clocks […]

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Good Morning

I awoke to interesting things this morning. Six inches of snow, and a temperature of 10 F, that’s -12C. Happy April 20. While colder than normal, snow is not uncommon around here in April, or even May. And then, I checked my email. This morning’s Ragtag Daily Prompt is Encephalopathy. Yikes. I do know the […]

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Percolate

When I hear the word percolate, coffee comes to mind, as a percolator was the standard way of making coffee when I was a child. Even though my parents didn’t drink coffee at home, it was the morning beverage of choice for adults in my friend’s homes. In restaurants, it was omnipresent. Back then, a […]

Noise

I’m sound sensitive. I have been all my life, which made growing up in a household with 3 younger siblings challenging. I often retreated to my room (I am grateful I had my own room from the age of 8), closed the door, and read. I think I also learned to ignore household noises, and […]

H

H is for horseradish, hospital and hope also hands, hearts and home hook and ladder hoop and hula hangers, hopscotch, hockey, hill hops for beer and bunnies but not for scotch horrible rhyme, best not to watch. homo, hetero hare and hair and heir hiccups and hairballs no raindrops or roses my heads random droppings […]

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C is for Corona

Corona means crown or crownlike structure, and it is the gaseous outer rim of a star, normally visible only during a total solar eclipse, as shown in today’s featured photograph. This past year, we’ve learned much more than we ever wanted to know about coronaviruses, and one in particular, that which causes the Covid-19 illness, […]

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Its in Our Hands Now

A mob tore through the US Capitol building on Wednesday. Incited to destructive action by a deranged president, this group of deluded individuals, largely white and male, fancying themselves patriots, but more accurately stooges of right-wing propagandists, broke through an inadequate line of police and into the Capitol. People were killed, breakage occurred, objects, possibly […]

Use Them, Please!

Directionals, blinkers, dinkers, turn indicators, signals, call them what you like, just use them. A pet peeve of mine is people not indicating their upcoming turns. I’m sure that I, too, fail periodically at this task, but I do indicate more often than not. Simple courtesy and not difficult to do. As a local bumper […]

Breathtaking

Today’s RDP is Breathtaking. This is the view from one of the hikes I took this past weekend. It was my first overnight camp in my van, and as a shakedown cruise, it went pretty well. I figured out what worked as anticipated and what could use improvement. And of course, there are always new […]

Strange Looks

Today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt is Eyebrow. I chose it in response to some recent sightings of what appeared to be very curious stenciled eyebrows. At the fabric store, the clerk cutting my material had brows that were at least 3 times the usual size painted across her brow and forehead. I’ve seen these a […]

Arboretum Benches

I had something else in mind for today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt of Bench, and then life, with its attendant adjustments of time and commitments intervened. Instead, I’ll give you the photos I took yesterday while walking through the small arboretum near my home. A fine variety of benches, for resting, art, eating, visiting or simply […]

BOMB CYCLONE

A month ago, I hadn’t heard this term. When I first heard it, I thought “over dramatizing again”. Now we’ve had two in the past month. A bomb cyclone is a weather phenomenon, defined by a very rapid drop it atmospheric pressure; falling more than 24 millibars in less than 24 hours. Warm and cold […]

Washing Up

From the time I went off to college until I bought my house some 14 years later, I was a user of laundromats. No just tossing a load in the washer while I did something else, a convenience I now enjoy. However, for efficiency of time, the laundromat was great. I’d go in at 6 […]

live with

Abandon not hope But that which interrupts your Connection with life. For today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt of Abandon.

Summer’s Hope

Someone I knew once commented that gardeners are optimists, looking ahead to possibility and planning for growth and a future reward. As I gardener, I do recognize this in myself, and the excitement that comes as seeds are purchased and started for the upcoming season. I started my tomato seeds last weekend, under lights and […]

Weather Guessing

I had a friend who worked in meteorology when she was in the military. Her branch was known colloquially as “the weather guessers”. I was reminded of this yesterday morning when the “light morning snow, accumulations less than an inch” turned into several inches of snow in just a few hours. There were a few […]

Vagrant

Homeless wanderer By choice or by circumstance Can you spare a dime? Illegal to be Poor, homeless, cold and jobless Hunger amoral? Living out of bounds Unconventional some way Each reflects a truth. For today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt of Vagrant.

Just my Cup

Dried leaf fragments Immersed in hot water Wait a bit drink tea. for today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt of Immerse

Listing

So what is a chore? Stuff that needs to get done. As I look at definitions, the most consistent meaning is a routine task of a domestic nature. Often, there is an additional connotation of unpleasantness. In my experience, the unpleasant part is optional. Some days I enjoy doing the dishes. Warm water, soap, very […]

Morning

Sleep was elusive Go to yoga anyway Sunrise from hot tub. For today’s Ragtag daily prompt of Vital

Hope in January

Surprising to feel Cheerful and energetic A breezy spring day. for today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt of Ebullient

Big Stink

Peeee-uuu what a stench Ashes to ashes dust to . . . . Rotten smells enroute The photo (from Pixabay, thank you) is of corpse flower, Amorphophallus titanium, so named because of its putrescent (like rotting flesh) scent. Talk about a terrible beauty. For today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt of Putrescent. Good one, […]